The present invention relates to a dispensing closure for closing an end of a container or canister containing dispensable articles.
More particularly, the present invention relates to such a dispensing closure for closing a canister containing towels or tissues, e.g. towels or tissues which are joined by interlocking, or which are in the form of a continuous web with individual towels being separably connected by perforations.
There have been developed a great many types of dispensing units for dispensing towels and tissues. However, the dispensing of a web of towels which are separably connected by perforations presents particularly difficult dispensing problems, especially when the web of towels is a web of pre-moistened washcloth-type towels. Most prior art units for dispensing this type of product present inconveniences in use. More particularly, in such a dispensing unit, it is necessary to maintain some degree of airtightness of the dispensing unit to avoid drying out of the pe-moistened towels. This inherently leads to restriction of the size of the dispensing opening of the unit. If the continuity of dispensing of the towels is interrupted, then the dispensing unit must be completely opened to again thread or insert a towel through the dispensing opening. Furthermore, when initially commencing use of such prior art units, it is normally necessary to open the entire unit to insert the first towel through the dispensing opening. All of these problems result in inconvenience to the consumer and/or additional cost to the manufacturer or assembler.
One prior art attempt to overcome such disadvantages is shown in Ames U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,695, wherein there is shown a dispensing cap having a dispensing opening including an enlarged portion, a slot or groove connected at one end thereof to the enlarged portion, and a circular end portion connected to the other end of the slot. The entire dispensing opening is selectively covered by a lid which is hinged to the cap. Individual towels connected to other towels of a web by perforations are dispensed from a container or canister by threading the web of towels through the enlarged portion, and then pulling the towel outwardly through the slot and substantially into the circular portion. The slot and circular portion impart tension to a leading towel such that it is separated from a succeeding towel along the perforations, with the succeeding towel then partially extending through the slot and circular opening.
However, this dispensing arrangement of Ames still has certain inherent disadvantages. More particularly, the enlarged portion of the dispensing opening is oftentimes not large enough to enable the first towel to be dispensed to be manually pulled through the enlarged portion at commencement of use of the device. This necessitates removal of the entire cap to thread the first towel through the dispensing opening. This disadvantage also occurs if the continuity of the dispensing operation is interrupted by a towel being separated from the web of towels without the succeeding towel at least partially extending through the dispensing opening. Furthermore, in the arrangement of Ames, the towels cannot be dispensed without lifting the lid and exposing the entire dispensing opening. This inherently subjects the towels within the container to the surrounding atmosphere, and if the towels are pemoistened towels, then the towels will dry out more rapidly than is desirable. Similarly, before the canister or container of towels is used by a consumer, for example when the canister of towels is stored in a warehouse or store prior to purchase by the consumer, premoistened towels will tend to dry out unless the lid is tightly sealed over the dispensing opening. In practice it is quite difficult to achieve such tight sealing, and when sufficiently tight sealing is achieved the manufacturing cost of the unit is substantially increased.